Method and apparatus for combining symbols in gaming devices

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of the present invention set forth systems, apparatuses and methods for combining symbols in gaming devices. Accordingly, a gaming device can be configured to display a plurality of game elements each including a game symbol on a game display in response to a game initiation signal. When one or more predefined game conditions are satisfied, the method further includes combining two or more of the game symbols in a single game element. In some instances, one or more of the symbols that left their respective game elements are replaced with additional game symbols. The resulting game grid may then be evaluated to determine prizes associated with winning symbol combinations, including using one or both of the symbols combined in the single game element in the winning symbol combinations.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.14/193,297, filed Feb. 28, 2014, which claims the benefit of ProvisionalPatent Application No. 61/771,731 filed on Mar. 1, 2013, to whichpriority is claimed pursuant to 35 U.S.C. §119(e) and which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This disclosure relates generally to wagering games, and moreparticularly to wagering games played on gaming apparatuses where thewagering games include methods for combining symbols during game play.

BACKGROUND

Casino games such as poker, slots, and craps have long been enjoyed as ameans of entertainment. Almost any game of chance that can be playedusing traditional apparatus (e.g., cards, dice) can be simulated on acomputer. The popularity of casino gambling with wagering continues toincrease, as does recreational gambling such as non-wagering computergame gambling. It is also likely that most new games will beimplemented, at least in part, using computerized apparatus.

One reason that casino games are widely implemented on computerizedapparatus is that computerized games are highly adaptable, easilyconfigurable and re-configurable, and require minimal supervision tooperate. For example, the graphics and sounds included in such games canbe easily modified to reflect popular subjects, such as movies andtelevision shows.

Computer gaming devices can also be easily adapted to provide entirelynew games of chance that might be difficult to implement usingmechanical or discrete electronic circuits. Because of the ubiquity ofcomputerized gaming machines, players have come to expect theavailability of an ever wider selection of new games when visitingcasinos and other gaming venues. Playing new games adds to theexcitement of “gaming” As is well known in the art and as used herein,the term “gaming” and “gaming devices” generally involves some form ofwagering, and that players make wagers of value, whether actual currencyor something else of value, e.g., token or credit. Wagering-type gamesusually provide rewards based on random chance as opposed to skill. Insome jurisdictions, the absence of skill when determining awards duringgame play is a requirement.

The present disclosure describes methods, systems, and apparatus thatprovide for new and interesting gaming experiences, and that provideother advantages over the prior art.

SUMMARY

To overcome limitations in the prior art described above, and toovercome other limitations that will become apparent upon reading andunderstanding the present specification, the present invention isdirected to an apparatus, system, computer readable storage media,and/or method that involve or otherwise facilitate combining symbols(also referred to as indicia or markings) during game play. In oneembodiment, a method of operating a gaming device includes displaying aplurality of game elements each including a game symbol on a gamedisplay in response to a game initiation signal. When one or morepredefined game conditions are satisfied, the method further includescombining two or more of the game symbols, and in some embodimentsreplacing one or more of the symbols that vacated their respective gameelements to make the combinations with additional game symbols.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A and 1B are diagrams of a gaming machine according toembodiments of the invention.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are diagrams of a gaming display illustrating examplegame play according to embodiments of the invention.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are schematic diagrams illustrating example combinationoperations according to embodiments of the invention.

FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C, and 4D are diagrams of a gaming display illustratingexample game play according to embodiments of the invention.

FIGS. 5A, 5B, and 5C are diagrams of a gaming display illustratingexample game play according to embodiments of the invention.

FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 6C are diagrams of a gaming display illustratingexample game play according to embodiments of the invention.

FIGS. 7A, 7B, 7C, 7D, and 7E are diagrams of a gaming displayillustrating example game play according to embodiments of theinvention.

FIGS. 8A, 8B, 8C, 8D, 8E, and 8F are diagrams of a gaming displayillustrating example game play according to embodiments of theinvention.

FIGS. 9A, 9B, 9C, 9D, 9E, 9F, 9G, and 9H are diagrams of a gamingdisplay illustrating example game play according to embodiments of theinvention.

FIGS. 10A, 10B, 10C, 10D, and 10E are diagrams of a gaming displayillustrating example game play according to embodiments of theinvention.

FIGS. 11A and 11B are diagrams of a gaming display illustrating examplegame play according to embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of operating a gamingdevice according to embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating a computing arrangementaccording to embodiments of the invention.

FIGS. 14A, 14B, 14C, and 14D are diagrams of a gaming displayillustrating example game play according to embodiments of theinvention.

FIGS. 15A, 15B, 15C, and 15D are diagrams of a gaming displayillustrating example game play according to embodiments of theinvention.

FIGS. 16A, 16B, 16C, 16D, and 16E are diagrams of a gaming displayillustrating example game play according to embodiments of theinvention.

FIGS. 17A, 17B, 17C, 17D, 17E, 17F, and 17G are diagrams of a gamingdisplay illustrating example game play according to embodiments of theinvention.

FIGS. 18A, 18B, 18C, 18D, 18E, 18F, and 18G are diagrams of a gamingdisplay illustrating example game play according to embodiments of theinvention.

FIGS. 19A, 19B, 19C, and 19D are diagrams of a gaming displayillustrating example game play according to embodiments of theinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description of various exemplary embodiments, referenceis made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and inwhich is shown by way of illustration representative embodiments inwhich the features described herein may be practiced. It is to beunderstood that other embodiments may be utilized, as structural andoperational changes may be made without departing from the scope of thedisclosure.

In the description that follows, the term “reels,” “cards,” “decks,” andsimilar mechanically descriptive language may be used to describevarious apparatus presentation features, as well as various actionsoccurring to those object (e.g., “spin,” “draw,” “hold,” “bet”).Although the present disclosure may be applicable to both to manual,mechanical, and computerized embodiments, and any combinationtherebetween, the use of mechanically descriptive terms is not meant tobe only applicable to mechanical embodiments. Those skilled in the artwill understand that, for purposes of providing gaming experiences toplayers, mechanical elements such as cards, reels, and the like may besimulated on a display in order to provide a familiar and satisfyingexperience that emulates the behavior of mechanical objects, as well asemulating actions that occur in the non-computerized games (e.g.,spinning, holding, drawing, betting). Further, the computerized versionmay provide the look of mechanical equivalents but may be generallyrandomized in a different way. Thus, the terms “cards,” “decks,”“reels,” “hands,” etc., are intended to describe both physical objectsand emulation or simulations of those objects and their behaviors usingelectronic apparatus.

In various embodiments of the invention, the gaming displays aredescribed in conjunction with the use of data in the form of “symbols.”In the context of this disclosure, a “symbol” may generally refer atleast to a collection of one or more arbitrary indicia or signs thathave some conventional significance. In particular, a symbol canrepresent a value that can at least be used to determine whether toaward a payout. A symbol may include numbers, letters, shapes, pictures,textures, colors, sounds, etc., and any combination therebetween. A wincan be determined by comparing a symbol with one or more additionalsymbols. Generally, such comparisons can be performed via software bymapping numbers (or other data structures such as character strings) tothe symbols and performing the comparisons on the numbers/datastructures. Other conventions associated with known games (e.g., thenumerical value/ordering of face cards and aces in card games) may alsobe programmatically analyzed to determine winning combinations.

Generally, systems, apparatuses and methods are described for enhancingwinning result opportunities in gaming activities. The systems,apparatuses and methods described herein may be implemented as a singlegame, or part of a multi-part game. For example, the game featuresdescribed herein may be implemented in primary gaming activities, bonusgames, side bet games or other secondary games associated with a primarygaming activity. The game features may be implemented in stand-alonegames, multi-player games, etc. Further, the disclosure may be appliedto any games of chance, and descriptions provided in the context of anyrepresentative embodiment (e.g. video poker) are provided for purposesof facilitating an understanding of the features described herein.However, the principles described herein are equally applicable to anygame of chance where an outcome(s) is determined for use in the player'sgaming activity. The game features described herein may be employed instand-alone games, a primary/base games, bonus games, side bet games,etc.

Embodiments of the present concept include providing gaming devices(also referred to as gaming apparatuses or gaming machines), gamingsystems, and methods of operating these devices or systems to providegame play that utilizes operations of combining game symbols (i.e., themarkings or indicia on game elements) in response to predefinedconditions. In one embodiment, a method of operating a gaming deviceincludes displaying a plurality of game elements each including a gamesymbol on a game display in response to a game initiation signal. Whenone or more predefined game conditions are satisfied, the method furtherincludes combining two or more of the game symbols, and in someembodiments replacing one or more of the symbols that left theirrespective game elements to make the combinations with additional gamesymbols. In some embodiments, the game symbols are combined by movingall the symbols indicated by the predefined condition to a single gameelement; thereby creating a multi-indicia game element for use inevaluating awards or other game play functions. In other embodiments,one or more symbols that are indicated by the satisfied predefinedcondition are moved from their respective game elements to elements in asecondary game play area for use in evaluating awards or other game playfunctions. In yet other embodiments, symbols indicated by the satisfiedpredefined condition are grouped together, evaluated for awards, andremoved from the game display to allow the additional game symbols tofill the empty game element locations. In other embodiments, the gamesymbols may not be combined visually, but are combined mathematically.For example, in a mechanical spinning reel game, symbols appearing onthe game reels may be combined mathematically, with one or more reelsrespinning for a new outcome, even though the physical symbols do notvisually combine. In some example embodiments, a secondary screen mayshow the symbols combining, or an overlying transmissive portion of thedisplay may be used to show the symbols combining even though theunderlying symbols are not visually combined. In yet other embodiments,symbols may be arranged or categorized into layers where rules applyabout combining elements assigned to certain symbol layers. For example,a slot symbol may be associated with a particular background where onlysymbols having similar back grounds are combined. In another example,playing cards may have sub-symbols or special card markings that atleast partially dictate when card symbols are combined. The layer rulesmay also coincide with other combination rules. For example, certainsymbols may only combine within a similar layer while other symbols maycombine with either similar layer symbols or symbols in at least oneother layer.

Numerous variations are possible using these and other embodiments ofthe inventive concept. Some of these embodiments and variations arediscussed below with reference to the drawings. However, many otherembodiments and variations exist that are covered by the principles andscope of this concept. For example, although some of the embodimentsdiscussed below involve video poker or reel-based slot machine examplesof this concept, other embodiments include application of symbolcombination techniques in other types of poker games, slot games, kenogames, bingo games, blackjack games, baccarat games, or other games ofchance. Some of these other types of embodiments will be discussed belowas variations to the examples illustrated. However, many other types ofgames can implement similar techniques and fall within the scope of thisinventive concept.

Referring to the example gaming apparatus 100 shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B,the gaming apparatus includes a display portion 102 (also referred to asa gaming display), and a player interface portion 104, although some orall of the user interface 104 may be provided via the display 102 intouch screen embodiments. The display portion 102 may include one ormore display areas 106 that may be included in physically separatedisplays or as portions of a common large display. Here, the gamedisplay 106 includes a game play portion 108 that displays game elementsand symbols 110, and an operations portion 109 that can include meters,various game buttons, or other game information for a player of thegaming device 100.

The user interface 104 allows the user to control and engage in play ofthe gaming machine 100. The particular user interface mechanismsincluded with user interface 104 may be dependent on the type of gamingdevice. For example, the user interface 104 may include one or morebuttons, switches, joysticks, levers, pull-down handles, trackballs,voice-activated input, or any other user input system or mechanism thatallows the user to play the particular gaming activity.

The user interface 104 may allow the user or player to enter coins,bills, or otherwise obtain credits through vouchers, tokens, creditcards, tickets, etc. Various mechanisms for entering such vouchers,tokens, credit cards, coins, tickets, etc. are known in the art. Forexample, coin/symbol input mechanisms, card readers, credit cardreaders, smart card readers, punch card readers, radio frequencyidentifier (RFID) readers, and other mechanisms may be used to enterwagers. It is through the user interface 104 that the player caninitiate and engage in gaming activities. While the illustratedembodiment depicts various buttons for the user interface 104, it shouldbe recognized that a wide variety of user interface options areavailable for use in connection with the present invention, includingpressing buttons, touching a segment of a touch-screen, entering text,entering voice commands, or other known data entry methodology.

The display device 102 may include one or more of an electronic display,a mechanical display, and a fixed display information, such as paytableinformation associated with a glass/plastic panel on the gaming machine100. The symbols or other indicia associated with the play of the gamemay be presented on an electronic display device or on mechanicaldevices associated with a mechanical display. Generally, the display 102devotes the largest portion of viewable area to the primary gamingportion 106. The gaming portion 106 is generally where the visualfeedback for any selected game is provided to the user. The gamingportion 106 may render graphical objects such as cards, slot reels,dice, animated characters, and any other gaming visual known in the art.The gaming portion 106 also typically informs players of the outcome ofany particular event, including whether the event resulted in a win orloss.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1A, a video poker game is available forplay on the gaming device. Hence, the game play portion 108 includesplaying cards as game elements 110 with associated rank and suitmarkings on the cards making up the symbols that appear on the elements.Here, as illustrated by the dashed line 112, a poker hand that meets orsatisfies a predefined condition may have one or more of the cardscombine during game play. For example, in this embodiment, cards of thesame rank combine into multi-indicia symbols on a single card element.Here, the Jack of Hearts (J-H) is combined with the Jack of Spades (J-S)to form a multi-indicia card at the third card position in the videopoker hand. Another card may fill in the spot vacated by the J-H and thehand may be evaluated for awards. These and other symbol combiningtechniques may be used in various poker games, including draw and/orstud poker, as well as in slot machine games, black jack games, kenogames, or any other wagering game of chance.

The gaming portion 106 may include other features known in the art thatfacilitate gaming, such as status and control portion 109. As isgenerally known in the art, this portion 109 provides information aboutcurrent bets, current wins, remaining credits, etc. associated withgaming activities of the grid 108. The control portion 109 may alsoprovide touchscreen controls for facilitating game play. The grid 108may also include touchscreen features, such as facilitating selection ofindividual cards for holding prior to draw of new cards and/or advancingparticular cards to move up to the next hand if conditions aresatisfied. The gaming portion 106 of the display 102 may include otherfeatures that are not shown, such as paytables, navigation controls,etc.

FIG. 1B illustrates another embodiment on the display device 102. Here,a poker game may include multiple poker hands in the same poker game.These multiple hands include a first poker hand 124, a second poker hand126, and a third poker hand 128, although more or fewer poker hands arepossible in other multiple hand poker embodiments. As shown in FIG. 1B,these embodiments may have similar rules to conventional multi-handpoker games where cards are dealt to the first poker hand 124 whilecards in the second and third poker hands 126, 128 are initially facedown. Cards held in the first poker hand 124, including multi-indiciacards that have been combined (e.g., the 4-Clubs/4-Hearts), arereplicated in the second, third and any other subsequent poker hand 126,128. Replacement cards may then be drawn for the first poker hand 124,second poker hand 126, and third poker hand 128. These replacement cardsmay come from separate card decks or may come from a single card deck.Thus, in a three poker hand embodiment, three separate card decks may beused, or a single card deck may be used. Although one multiple handpoker game is shown in FIG. 1B, other types of multiple poker handembodiments are possible, such as multiple hand poker games where eachpoker hand is independent of one another, or dependent in a differentmanner from the multi-hand poker embodiment shown in FIG. 1B.

FIGS. 2A-11 and 14A-18G illustrate several embodiments of examples ofhow this concept can be implemented into the game play of gamingdevices. As discussed above, this is not an exhaustive list of possibleembodiments. Rather, these figures and the accompanying text arediscussed to provide some of the ways this inventive concept can beimplemented in gaming devices.

Referring to FIGS. 2A and 2B a gaming display 200 includes a video pokergame utilizing some of the symbol combining techniques included in thisconcept. Here a five-card stud poker hand 210 is provided in the gameplay portion of the display 200, along with a game paytable 202 and anoperations portion 204 that includes various meters and buttons, such asa “Total Bet” meter or indicator 206 and a “Paid” indicator 208. Asdiscussed above, when various predefined conditions are satisfied or metduring game play, one or more game symbols are combined to providevarious hand combinations during award evaluations. That is, cards orcard symbols can move to other card locations or other game areas basedon predetermined move criteria or conditions. For poker hands, there arenumerous types of predefined conditions or move criteria that can beimplemented to determine if or when card symbols are moved and combined.For example, the predefined conditions may include any or a combinationof the following: 1) Cards of the same rank being combined; 2) Onlypairs of cards being combined; 3) Four cards to a royal flush arecombined; 4) Any cards to a Royal Flush are Combined; 4) Suited cardsone rank apart are combined (such as the 8 of Hearts combining with the9 of Hearts); 5) Any suited cards are combined; 6) Any cards one rankapart are combined; 7) Cards being dealt or drawn to certain cardpositions in the hand; or 8) any other of the multitude of possiblerules or multi-step rules that could be applied as a predefined orpredetermined condition for combining cards or card symbols.

Returning to FIGS. 2A and 2B, the predefined conditions in thisembodiment include any number of cards of the same rank are combined.Thus, the two Kings shown in FIG. 2A are combined as shown in FIG. 2B,and another card is automatically drawn into the location occupied bythe K-D which moved to combine with the K-S. Here, the additional drawncard was the K-H. The stud poker hand 210 is now evaluated against thepaytable 202 (i.e., the coded or saved version of the displayed paytablethat is stored in memory). There are various methods to evaluating thefinal poker hand, many of which are discussed below with respect to someof the other illustrated embodiments. These methods include providing apay for the best five card hand using all of the cards displayed in thestud poker hand 210 where each symbol on the multi-indicia card (i.e.,the combined K-S, K-D card element) is evaluated as a separate card,enumerating all of the possible five card hands using the combinedmulti-indicia cards and paying for each winning hand, or various othermethods. In this example embodiment, only the highest paying five cardhand is paid. Thus, the 5 of Hearts (5-H) is not used and each King fromthe multi-indicia card is used to provide a three-of-a-kind hand ofKings with an associated award of 15 credits as shown in the paid meter208. Note that a bet of 10 credits included 5 credits wagered on thestud poker hand 210 and five credits for the feature of using combinedcards in the game play, although various other betting methods arepossible.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are schematic diagrams illustrating example combinationoperations according to embodiments of the invention. Referring to FIG.3A, an initial hand 310A includes five playing cards 314A-318A.According to a predefined condition, if two or more cards of the samerank are displayed in the hand 310A, they are combined. Here, the A-Sand A-H are both included in the hand and are identified 312A andcombined to form a resulting hand 311A where the A-S and A-H are formedinto a multi-indicia card or are otherwise combined. An additional cardmay then be selected to fill the vacant card slot 319A that resultedfrom the movement and combination of the A-S and A-H. In otherembodiments, however, no additional cards may be selected or otherwiseused to fill the vacant card slot 319A.

Referring to FIG. 3B, another initial five card poker hand 310B isprovided that includes five cards 314B-318B. Here, a predefinedcondition includes the rule that four cards to a Royal Flush arecombined. Since four cards are provided in the initial hand 310B thatform part of a Royal Flush, they are identified 312B and combined toform the resulting hand 311B. The combined card at 312B now has theindicia or symbols of four playing cards (A-S, K-S, J-S, and 10-S) whilethree other card locations (319B, 320B, and 321B) are now open and canbe filled with additional cards, or not filled at all in otherembodiments. Here, the player is likely hoping that one of the new cardsthat fill these vacant locations is the Q-S, which would complete theRoyal Flush.

A five-card draw poker embodiment is shown in FIGS. 4A-4D where thecombining of cards is done prior to the draw and the best five card handis paid. As discussed in other embodiments below, the movement andcombination of cards or other symbols (such as in a slot game) can bedone at various times or stages of the game and the evaluationtechniques of the resulting hand or outcome can use one or more ofvarious evaluation techniques. Referring to FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C, and 4D, agaming display 400 includes a poker hand 410 in the game play portion ofthe display, along with various meters and buttons, such as a “TotalBet” meter 406, a “Paid” meter 408, multiple “Hold” game buttons 460associated with card positions in the poker hand 410, and a “Deal/Draw”game button 450.

In FIG. 4A, a hand 410 is dealt on a gaming display 400 that includestwo Queens. In this embodiment, one of the predefined combinationconditions is that cards of a similar rank are combined to form amulti-indicia card symbol. Here, since there are two Queens, the Q-H ismoved to the location occupied by the Q-D (although movement in theopposite direction is also possible) to form a multi-indicia cardshowing both Queen symbols.

As shown in FIG. 4C, another card has been used to replace the cardlocation vacated by the Q-H. In this instance, the new card is the J-S.In some embodiments, this J-S may be combined with the J-C prior and anew replacement card drawn for the vacated card position, but in thecurrently illustrated embodiment, only a single combination is allowedfrom the originally dealt hand. The player has held the J-C, themulti-indicia Q-D/Q-H and the J-S using the provided buttons 460 (or byusing buttons on the player interface portion of the game, by touchingthe cards themselves, or using any other known techniques to hold thecards). After holding the desired cards, the gaming device discards thecards not held, and draws new cards to replace the discarded cards asshown in FIG. 4D. Here, the player has received the 2-H and J-D on thedraw. Although in some embodiments, another condition may triggeradditional card movement or combinations (such as combining the Jacks),this illustrated embodiment simply evaluates the resulting hand forawards by determining the best five-card hand. Here, the 2-H is not usedand a Full House of Jacks over Queens is determined to be the bestfive-card hand. The player is accordingly paid 45 credits as shown inthe Paid meter 408.

The embodiments shown in FIGS. 5A-5C are very similar to those shownabove in FIGS. 4A-4D, except that instead of simply paying the bestfive-card hand, each of the possible resulting five card hands areenumerated and evaluated. Referring to FIGS. 5A-5C, a gaming display 500includes a poker hand 510 in the game play portion of the display, alongwith various meters and buttons, such as a “Total Bet” meter 506, a“Paid” meter 508, multiple “Hold” game buttons 560 associated with cardpositions in the poker hand 510, and a “Deal/Draw” game button 550.These embodiments also have a secondary card display that shows possibleenumerated poker hands 512, 514, 516, 518, 520, 522 that are used toshow enumerated poker hands when a two cards are combined in the mainpoker hand 510 to form a multi-indicia poker card.

Here, as shown in FIG. 5C, the player is paid for a two-pair win inhands 512, 518, and 522, as well as being paid for three-of-a-kind winsfor hands 514 and 520 and a full house win in hand 516. The sum of theseawards is displayed in the Paid meter 508. In some embodiments, therules associated with the predefined condition may specify that only oneset of two cards can be combined with any hand. Such embodiments mayinclude combining pairs of cards, or suited cards one rank apart, orcombinations according to other rules. These embodiments may be usedwhen all hands are enumerated above and main hand area, although notnecessarily as the number of hands shown enumerated can be done invarious manners.

The embodiments shown in FIGS. 6A-6C illustrate a stud poker examplewhere the predefined conditions include combining four cards to a RoyalFlush. Referring to FIGS. 6A-6C, a gaming display 600 includes a pokerhand 610 in the game play portion of the display, along with variousmeters and buttons, such as a “Total Bet” meter 606, a “Paid” meter 608,and a “Deal” game button 650.

As shown in FIGS. 6B the A-H, K-H, Q-H, and 10-H are all combined to amulti-indicia card. In FIG. 6C, replacement cards are provided in thecard locations that were vacated by the moved cards, and all five cardhands that could be created using the resulting poker hand are paid.Here, the player missed out on the Royal Flush (i.e., did not receivethe J-H in the replacement cards), but did manage to get a flush pay(Hearts with the 4-H), a straight pay (with the J-S) and ajacks-or-better pair pay (with the Q-D). Since this embodiment pays allof the possible five card pays (enumeration can be done in variousvisual/auditory ways to show the different pays, or no enumeration maybe shown), the Paid meter reflects the sum of the awards associated withthe paying poker hands.

The embodiment shown in FIGS. 7A, 7B, 7C, 7D, and 7E have a slightlydifferent rule set then the embodiments discussed above. Referring toFIGS. 7A-7E, a gaming display 700 includes a poker hand 710 in the gameplay portion of the display, along with various meters and buttons, suchas a “Total Bet” meter 706, a “Paid” meter 708, multiple “Hold” gamebuttons 760 associated with card positions in the poker hand 710, and a“Deal/Draw” game button 750.

Here, the predefined conditions specify that any cardmovement/combinations are made after the draw in the draw poker game.Thus, as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the player holds the best dealt cardsand draws to replace the three discarded cards. In FIG. 7C, the playerhas received her draw cards and the resulting hand is compared againstthe rules specified in the predefined conditions or criteria todetermine if any cards should be moved or combined. In this embodiment,the rules of the condition include all cards of a particular rank arecombined together. Here, the player has received three Queens in theresulting hand, which are then moved to a single card location andcombined into a multi-indicia game element, as shown in FIG. 7D.Additional replacement cards are used to fill in the vacated cardlocations as shown in FIG. 7E. The final hand with the replacement cardis then evaluated for awards. Here, the player received the fourth Queenwith the additional replacement cards and is paid for the best five-cardhand, which in this case is a four-of-a-kind associated with 125 creditsas shown on the Paid meter 708.

The embodiment shown in FIGS. 8A, 8B, 8C, 8D, 8E, and 8F includespredefined conditions that allow card movement/combinations both beforeand after the draw. Referring to FIGS. 8A-8F, a gaming display 800includes a poker hand 810 in the game play portion of the display, alongwith various meters and buttons, such as a “Total Bet” meter 806, a“Paid” meter 808, multiple “Hold” game buttons 860 associated with cardpositions in the poker hand 810, and a “Deal/Draw” game button 850.

As shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the initially dealt Queens are combinedinto a multi indicia card prior to the player holding and drawing cards.After a replacement card is dealt in FIG. 8C, the player has the chanceto hold cards. In other embodiments, the Jacks may have also moved andcombined to form another multi-indicia card. However, in the embodimentillustrated here, only one card combination movement is done before thedraw. Here, the player has held the Jacks and the multi-indicia Queenscard. FIG. 8D shows the result of the discard and draw. The player hasreceived another Jack on the draw. Although some embodiments may pay forthe best five-card hand at various stages in the game (such as prior tothe draw and after the draw), the embodiments shown in conjunction withthese figures pays for the best five card hand after the draw and allother combinations have been made. Here, since the rules associated withthe predefined condition include combining any cards of the same rank,the three Jacks are now combined as shown in FIG. 8E, and additionalreplacement cards are provided in the vacated card element locations asshown in FIG. 8F. The final hand is then evaluated to determine the bestfive-card poker hand. In this instance the best five-card hand is a FullHouse of Queens over Jacks, which is associated with a 45 credit pay asshown in the Paid meter 808.

The embodiments associated with FIGS. 9A, 9B, 9C, 9D, 9E, 9F, 9G, and 9Hhave a different method of handling and displaying combination cards.

Referring to FIGS. 9A-9H, a gaming display 900 includes a main pokerhand 910 in the game play portion of the display and a separate orsecondary combination area 912 of the display, along with various metersand buttons, such as a “Total Bet” meter 906, a “Paid” meter 908,multiple “Hold” game buttons 960 associated with card positions in thepoker hand 910, a “Win” meter 930 associated with the combination areaof the display, and a “Deal/Draw” game button 950.

These embodiments move the cards to be combined out of the displayedhand 910, evaluate them for awards and then replace then in thedisplayed hand. The combined cards that are moved out of the main hand910 may be continued to be displayed or may be removed after any paysare awarded so that other cards can be combined and evaluated. After allpossible cards combinations are removed and evaluated, the final pokerhand may be evaluated to determine if any other awards are associatedwith the final hand.

Referring to FIGS. 9A and 9B, the rules associated with the predefinedconditions in this embodiment specify that cards of the same rank arecombined and evaluated. Hence, the Queens that are provided in the hand910 shown in FIG. 9A are moved to a separate combination area of thegame display 912 and are evaluated for awards, which appear on a related“Win” meter 930, as shown in FIG. 9B. Here, the Queens for a pair thatare higher than jacks-or-better, so they are paid 5 credits as shown onthe Win meter 930 in FIG. 9B. In FIG. 9C, the win from the Win meter 930is moved to the Paid meter 908 and the Queens in the combination areaare removed. Additional replacement cards are then provided in the cardelement locations vacated by the two Queens. As shown in FIGS. 9C and9D, these replacement cards include a J-S, which is then pulled out andcombined with the earlier dealt J-C in the combination area 912. Thepair of Jacks is evaluated and awarded 5 credits as shown on the Winmeter 930.

The card elements vacated by the combined Jacks is then provided withreplacement cards as shown in FIG. 9E. As no further pairs exist to becombined, the player is allowed to hold and draw for another hand. Notethat the award associated with the Jacks is added from the Win meter 930to the paid meter 908 as well in FIG. 9E. Here, the player has held theA-D and K-D and has discarded the other three cards in the poker hand910. As shown in FIG. 9F, the draw replacement cards include twoadditional Kings. These Kings are then combined with the previously heldK-D and moved to the combination area 912 to be evaluated, as shown inFIG. 9G. The three-of-a-kind is associated with a 15 credit award, whichis shown in the Win meter 930. Replacement cards are provided for theKings in the main hand 910 as shown in FIG. 9H. Here, none of theremaining cards satisfies the condition of cards having the same rank.Thus, the game ends and the player is paid the sum of the previouslyindicated wins.

In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 10A, 10B, 10C, 10D, and 10E, cardsthat satisfy a predefined condition or criterion are combined and movedto a new hand. Replacement cards are provided in the first hand toreplace the moved combination cards, and additional cards are providedin the new hand to complete the new hand.

Referring to FIGS. 10A-10E a gaming display 1000 includes a first pokerhand 1010 with associated first “Win” meter 1030, a second poker hand1012 with associated second “Win” meter 1032, and third poker hand 1014with associated third “Win” meter 1034. In addition, the game display1000 includes various other meters and buttons, such as a “Total Bet”meter 1006, a “Paid” meter 1008, and a “Deal” game button 1050.

Referring to FIGS. 10A and 10B, the initially dealt Queens in the firsthand 1010 are combined and moved to a second hand 1012. If no cards metthe combination rules associated with the predefined condition, then inthese embodiments, the first hand would be evaluated and the game wouldend. Other embodiments may, however, include other game steps in thesesituations. Returning to the illustrated embodiment, replacement cardsare provided in the first and 1010 to replace the combined Queens andnew cards are provided in the second hand 1012 to complete a five-cardhand, as shown in FIG. 10C. In this embodiment, the first hand 1010 isnow completed and is evaluated for any awards, which appear on the firstWin meter 1030. Here, the pair of Jacks is associated with an award of 5credits. In other embodiments, the pair of Jacks may be combined such asshown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, or may be moved up to another open hand andadditional replacement cards would be used until no cards in the handsatisfied the predefined conditions.

Returning to this illustrated embodiment, the second hand 1012 iscompared against the predefined conditions and since there are threeQueens that meet the condition of cards being of the same rank, they arecombined and moved up to a third hand 1014, as shown in FIG. 10D.Replacement cards are then provided in the second hand 1012 and it isevaluated to see if the hand is associated with any awards, which wouldappear on the second Win meter 1032. Additionally, new cards are used tocomplete the third hand 1014. In this embodiment, the third hand 1014 isevaluated for awards after it has been completed and no further cardcombinations are used. However, in other embodiments, additional handsmay be present to move card combinations that meet the predefinedconditions or the cards may be combined into multi-indicia cards asshown in FIGS. 2A and 2B. Here, the new cards used to fill out the thirdhand 1014 include the fourth Queen resulting in a hand evaluation of afour-of-a-kind, which has a corresponding award of 125 credits as shownin the third Win meter 1034. The totals from all of the Win meters(1030, 1032, and 1034) are summed up and shown in the Paid meter 1008.

In another similar embodiment, the combined cards may be combined into amulti-indicia card and then moved up (e.g., the Queens in FIG. 10A maybe combined to a multi-indicia card and pushed into the second hand1012). If replacement cards also satisfy a combination rule, they maypush up the combined cards from the previous hand to a third hand. Inthe example above, the replacement cards may be revealed for the firsthand 1010 before any other cards are shown in the second hand 1012. Whenthe two jacks appear in the first hand due to the replacement cards,they are combined and pushed to the second hand 1012. This push,however, moves the multi-indicia queens from the second hand 1012 to thethird hand 1014. Replacement cards are again drawn for the first hand1010. When no more combination cards exist for the first hand, the firsthand is evaluated for wins, and the replacement cards are drawn for thesecond hand. The process of combining and pushing cards meeting acombination criterion is carried out until no cards in any hand that wasactivated by having cards pushed to it has cards meeting a combinationcriteria. In this embodiment, players can get a string of hands to playbased on a good cards received in an initially dealt hands, and timelyreplacement cards being drawn.

The embodiment shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B illustrate examples of gameswhere the player is asked whether they want to make the combination.Referring to FIGS. 11A and 11B, a gaming display 1100 includes a pokerhand 1110 in the game play portion of the display, along with variousmeters and buttons, such as a “Total Bet” meter 1106, a “Paid” meter1108, multiple “Hold” game buttons 1160 associated with card positionsin the poker hand 1110, and a “Deal/Draw” game button 1150.

As shown in FIG. 11A, the player is dealt a hand with four club cards.The rules associated with the predefined condition look to move andcombine cards of the same rank, but for an additional wager. Thus, theplayer has the option of combining the 6s for an additional side bet orplaying the hand as is without the combination or additional bet. Insome embodiments, it may be advantageous to not combine cards, even whenno extra wager is required. If this possibility exists in certain games,these embodiments may also ask the player if they want to combine cardsor not. Here, for example, as shown in FIG. 11B, a dialog box 1170 ispresented asking whether the player would like to combine two or more ofthe cards. In some embodiments, this combination action may require anadditional wager or side bet, while in other embodiments, the choice tocombine cards may not require any additional wager.

In other embodiments, different conditions surrounding the combinationmay dictate the amount required as an additional wager to receive thecombination. For example, if a player receives a pair of 2s in a dealthand, a dialog box 1170 may require an additional wager of one credit tocombine the 2s. On the other hand, if four-to-a-royal-flush areinitially dealt, a dialog box 1170 (or other request mechanism) mayrequire an additional wager of 25 credits to combine the four cards anddraw four new cards. This additional wager may be structured so that itis always beneficial from a mathematical standpoint to combine the cardsfor the additional wager.

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of operating a gamingdevice according to embodiments of the invention. Although variousprocesses are shown in a particular order in this flow diagram, theorder of these processes can be changed in other embodiments withoutdeviating from the scope or spirit of this concept. Hence, the order ofthe processes shown is for illustrative purposes only and is not meantto be restrictive. Additional game processes may also be includedbetween various processes even though they are not shown in these flowdiagrams for clarity purposes. Further each of the processes may beperformed by components in a single game device, such as by a gameprocessor, or may be performed in part or whole by a remote server orprocessor connected to the gaming device via a network. Each process maybe encoded in instructions that are stored in a memory, acomputer-readable medium, or another type of storage device.

Referring to FIG. 12, the flow begins at process 1200 where a wager isreceived and a game is initiated. In process 1210 an initial poker handis dealt to a player. In process 1220 it is determined if a predefinedcondition is satisfied. If the condition is satisfied, the flow proceedsto process 1240 where cards meeting the condition are combined. Aftercombining the cards in process 1240, additional cards are dealt tocomplete the vacant card slots or locations in process 1245. The flowthen returns to process 1230 where the player is allowed to hold anddraw cards. If the predefined condition is not met as determined inprocess 1220, the flow would proceed directly to process 1230 withoutcombining any cards. After the player is allowed to hold and draw cards,the flow proceeds to process 1250 where the final poker hand isdisplayed, and then to process 1260 where the final hand is evaluatedfor awards.

Note that this example method is just one embodiment of how a gameoperation can be implemented. As discussed and shown above, manyvariations exist which may require additional, less, or differentprocesses to complete.

The embodiments discussed above are primarily related to video pokergames. However, this concept can be applied to a variety of games ofchance played on gaming devices. For example, in a slot machineembodiment, symbols meeting predefined conditions may be combined toform multi-indicia symbols, such as symbols having subsections todisplay and use each of the combined symbols. The vacant symbollocations may be filled with other symbols, the reels associated withthose vacant symbols may rotate or nudge to complete the game screen, orthe reels associated with the vacant symbols may be re-spun. Some thesepossible embodiments are discussed below in association with FIGS.14A-18G.

As may now be readily understood, one or more devices may be programmedto play various embodiments of the invention. The present invention maybe implemented as a casino gaming machine or other special purposegaming kiosk as described hereinabove, or may be implemented viacomputing systems operating under the direction of local gamingsoftware, and/or remotely-provided software such as provided by anapplication service provider (ASP). The casino gaming machines utilizecomputing systems to control and manage the gaming activity. An exampleof a representative computing system capable of carrying out operationsin accordance with the invention is illustrated in FIG. 13.

Hardware, firmware, software or a combination thereof may be used toperform the various gaming functions, display presentations andoperations described herein. The functional modules used in connectionwith the invention may reside in a gaming machine as described, or mayalternatively reside on a stand-alone or networked computer. Thecomputing structure 1300 of FIG. 13 is an example computing structurethat can be used in connection with such electronic gaming machines,computers, or other computer-implemented devices to carry out operationsof the present invention.

The example computing arrangement 1300 suitable for performing thegaming functions in accordance with the present invention typicallyincludes a central processor (CPU) 1302 coupled to random access memory(RAM) 1304 and some variation of read-only memory (ROM) 1306. The ROM1306 may also represent other types of storage media to store programs,such as programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), etc. Theprocessor 1302 may communicate with other internal and externalcomponents through input/output (I/O) circuitry 1308 and bussing 1310,to provide control signals, communication signals, and the like.

The computing arrangement 1300 may also include one or more data storagedevices, including hard and floppy disk drives 1312, CD-ROM drives 1314,card reader 1315, and other hardware capable of reading and/or storinginformation such as DVD, etc. In one embodiment, software for carryingout the operations in accordance with the present invention may bestored and distributed on a CD-ROM 1316, diskette 1318, access card1319, or other form of computer readable media capable of portablystoring information. These storage media may be inserted into, and readby, devices such as the CD-ROM drive 1314, the disk drive 1312, cardreader 1315, etc. The software may also be transmitted to the computingarrangement 1300 via data signals, such as being downloadedelectronically via a network, such as the Internet. Further, aspreviously described, the software for carrying out the functionsassociated with the present invention may alternatively be stored ininternal memory/storage of the computing device 1300, such as in the ROM1306.

The computing arrangement 1300 is coupled to the display 1311, whichrepresents a display on which the gaming activities in accordance withthe invention are presented. The display 1311 represents the“presentation” of the video information in accordance with theinvention, and may be any type of known display or presentation screen,such as liquid crystal displays, plasma displays, cathode ray tubes(CRT), digital light processing (DLP) displays, liquid crystal onsilicon (LCOS) displays, etc.

Where the computing device 1300 represents a stand-alone or networkedcomputer, the display 1311 may represent a standard computer terminal ordisplay capable of displaying multiple windows, frames, etc. Where thecomputing device is embedded within an electronic gaming machine, thedisplay 1311 corresponds to the display screen of the gamingmachine/kiosk. A user input interface 1322 such as a mouse,keyboard/keypad, microphone, touch pad, trackball, joystick, touchscreen, voice-recognition system, etc. may be provided. The display 1311may also act as a user input device, e.g., where the display 1311 is atouchscreen device.

Chance-based gaming systems such as slot machines, in which the presentinvention is applicable, are governed by random numbers and processors,as facilitated by a random number generator (RNG). The fixed and dynamicsymbols generated as part of a gaming activity may be produced using oneor more RNGs. RNGs as known in the art may be implemented usinghardware, software operable in connection with the processor 1302, orsome combination of hardware and software. The present invention isoperable using any known RNG, and may be integrally programmed as partof the processor 1302 operation, or alternatively may be a separate RNGcontroller 1340.

The computing arrangement 1300 may be connected to other computingdevices or gaming machines, such as via a network. The computingarrangement 1300 may be connected to a network server 1328 in anintranet or local network configuration. The computer may further bepart of a larger network configuration as in a global area network (GAN)such as the Internet. In such a case, the computer may have access toone or more web servers via the Internet. In other arrangements, thecomputing arrangement 1300 may be configured as an Internet server andsoftware for carrying out the operations in accordance with the presentinvention may interact with the player via one or more networks.

Other components directed to gaming machine implementations includemanners of gaming participant payment, and gaming machine payout. Forexample, a gaming machine including the computing arrangement 1300 mayalso include a hopper controller 1342 to determine the amount of payoutto be provided to the participant. The hopper controller may beintegrally implemented with the processor 1302, or alternatively as aseparate hopper controller 1342. A hopper 1344 may also be provided ingaming machine embodiments, where the hopper serves as the mechanismholding the coins/tokens of the machine. The wager input module 1346represents any mechanism for accepting coins, tokens, coupons, bills,electronic fund transfer (EFT), tickets, credit cards, smart cards,membership cards, etc., for which a participant inputs a wager amount.It will be appreciated that the primary gaming software 1332 may be ableto control payouts via the hopper 1344 and controller 1342 forindependently determined payout events.

Among other functions, the computing arrangement 1300 provides aninteractive experience to players via input interface 1322 and outputdevices, such as the display 1311, speaker 1330, etc. These experiencesare generally controlled by gaming software 1332 that controls a primarygaming activity of the computing arrangement 1300. The gaming software1332 may be temporarily loaded into RAM 1304, and may be stored locallyusing any combination of ROM 1306, drives 1312, media player 1314, orother computer-readable storage media known in the art. The primarygaming software 1332 may also be accessed remotely, such as via theserver 1328 or the Internet.

The primary gaming software 1332 in the computing arrangement 1300 isshown here as an application software module. According to embodimentsof the present invention, this software 1332 provides a slot game orsimilar game of chance as described hereinabove. For example, thesoftware 1332 may present, by way of the display 1311, representationsof symbols to map or otherwise display as part of a slot based gamehaving reels. However, in other embodiments, the principles of thisconcept may be applied to poker games or other types of games of chance.One or more aligned positions of these game elements may be evaluated todetermine awards based on a paytable. The software 1332 may includeinstructions to provide other functionality as known in the art anddescribed herein, such as shown and described above regarding FIGS.1A-12 and below regarding FIGS. 14A-19D.

FIGS. 14A-19D illustrate embodiments of slot games utilizing symbolcombination/movement techniques included in the present concept. Each ofthe figure families (FIGS. 14A-14D, 15A-15D, 16A-16E, 17A-G, 18A-G, and19A-D) show some of the possible combination/movement techniquevariations. However, many other implementations and embodiments arepossible. For example, while the following embodiments illustrate avideo slot game with five reels and three reel-stop locations associatedwith a main game display, other embodiments may include physical reels,transmissive-screen overlays, more or less reels, more or less reel stoplocations associated with one or more of the reels, different paylinesor pay structures, etc.

Referring to FIGS. 14A-14D, a video slot display 1400 includes a maingame play area 1410, which has five game reels, and a secondary area theincludes various meters and buttons, such as a “Bet” meter 1406, a“Paid” meter 1408, and a “SPIN” button 1450. In this embodiment a playerplaces a 15 credit wager and initiates the game by pressing the SPINbutton 1450 or another physical or soft button, or other means, to spinthe reels. As shown in FIG. 14A, the reel have come to rest with 15symbols appearing on the main game display 1410. A predefined rule forthis embodiment is defined to combine similar horizontally-adjacentsymbols into multi-indicia symbols for any symbol appearing on Reel 1(the leftmost reel in this example). As shown in FIG. 14B, the twoshaded-sevens, which appear next to each other on Reels 1 and 2 arecombined into a multi-indicia symbol. Reel 1, the reel with themulti-indicia symbol is then held and the remaining four reels arere-spun as shown in FIG. 14C. Here, the location vacated by theshaded-seven that moved from Reel 2 may be left vacant, may be replacedby another shaded-seven, may be replaced by another symbol, or the reelstrip may contract to eliminate the vacant space. In other embodiments,a copy of the shaded-seven could move and combine with the shaded-sevenon Reel 1 while the original shaded-seven remained in the original reellocation. In other embodiments, after the shaded-seven moved to Reel 1,the individual reel location vacated by the moved shaded-seven symbolmay have a reel strip associated with that location that is spun toselect a new symbol that appears in the vacant symbol location. In FIG.14D, the re-spun reels (Reels 2-5) come to rest and the result of thegame is evaluated. As shown in FIG. 14D, two more shaded-sevens have nowlanded on the middle payline for Reels 2 and 3. In this embodiment, theevaluation for awards results in a four-symbol pay for the shaded-sevens(each subsection of the multi-indicia symbol is counted independently asone symbol, and each of the shaded-sevens on Reels 2 and 3 are countedas a symbol). In other embodiments, other evaluation techniques may beused, such as the payline resulting in two three symbol pays. Althoughin this embodiment, an award evaluation is made after the re-spinning ofthe reels not having a multi-indicia symbol, in other embodiments theshaded-sevens on Reels 2 and 3 may be combined with the existingtwo-symbol shaded-seven or Reel 1 to form a 4-symbol multi-indiciasymbol and re-spinning Reels 2-5 again (i.e., symbols are combined aftereach time at least one reel is spun until no more symbol combinationscan be formed). Again, numerous other variations and embodiments existusing these or similar symbol-combination techniques.

Referring to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 15A-15D, a video slot display1500 includes a main game play area 1510, which has five game reels, anda secondary area the includes various meters and buttons, such as a“Bet” meter 1506, a “Paid” meter 1508, and a “SPIN” button 1550. Here, apredefined rule indicates that a special symbol triggers a “magnet”bonus effect when it appears on Reel 1 (the leftmost reel). The specialsymbol may be constant-defined special symbol, or one of the gamesymbols may be randomly or otherwise designated as the “special” symbolprior to the reels being spun. In some embodiments, this special symbolmay be a mystery to the player; while in other embodiments, a selectedspecial symbol may be displayed to the player prior to the reelsstopping so that the player is rooting for the symbol to appear on themain game display area 1510. In the current embodiment, the shaded-sevensymbol is indicated as the “special” symbol. As shown in FIG. 15A, ashaded-seven appears in the middle position of Reel 1 after the initialgame spin.

In FIG. 15B, and bonus magnet animation is triggered where similarsymbols are attracted to the special symbol. In this embodiment, onlysymbols on the same horizontal level are attracted by the “magneteffect.” However, in other embodiments, symbols from any position on themain game display 1510 or another display may be “attracted” to thespecial symbol.

As shown in FIG. 15C, the attracted shaded-sevens from Reels 4 and 5 aremoved to Reels 2 and 3 where they replace the original symbols in themiddle positions of Reels 2 and 3 to form a symbol combination ofshaded-sevens. The reels with vacated symbol positions are then re-spun(Reels 4 and 5) as shown. In other embodiments (such as shown in FIG.16C), the magnetic bonus may combine the “attracted” symbols with thespecial symbol to form a multi-indicia symbol. In FIG. 15D, Reels 4 and5 have stopped spinning and the main game display 1510 is evaluated forawards. Here, a four symbol pay of shaded-sevens is awarded to theplayer, since a “Wild” symbol has appeared in the middle position ofReel 4 and is hence evaluated as another shaded-seven.

In FIGS. 16A-16E, another embodiment is shown that uses a magnet effectin response to a predefined rule to create symbol movement and a symbolcombination. Referring to FIGS. 16A-16E, a video slot display 1600includes a main game play area 1610, which has five game reels, and asecondary area the includes various meters and buttons, such as a “Bet”meter 1606, a “Paid” meter 1608, and a “SPIN” button 1650. In thisembodiment, the predefined rule designates any symbol that appears inthe middle position of Reel 1 (the leftmost reel) as the special symbolwhere any similar symbols appearing on the same horizontal line (i.e.,middle position of any of the other reels) are combined to form amulti-indicia symbol. As shown in FIG. 16B, a shaded-seven symbolappears in the middle position of Reel 1 and is thus indicated as thespecial symbol. Therefore, any other shaded-seven symbols that appear inthe middle positions of the other reels are moved and combined with thespecial shaded-seven on Reel 1 to form a multi-indicia symbol. Theresult of this symbol movement and combination is shown in FIG. 16C.

In this embodiment, the reels that have vacated symbol positions fromthe symbol movement and combinations have the symbols above the vacatedsymbol positions cascade down. Thus, as shown in FIG. 16D, the symbolsabove the vacated symbol positions cascade down to fill the vacatedlocations. This results in new symbols appearing on the main gamedisplay 1610 from the cascade-effect. In other embodiments, the reelswith vacant symbol locations may be nudged (automatically, or byplayer-interaction) up one or two or more positions. In otherembodiments, Wild symbols may replace the vacated symbol positions orrandom symbols may be selected to fill the vacated symbol positions.

After the symbols have cascaded down, the resulting main game display1610 is evaluated for pays as shown in FIG. 16E. Here, a three-symbolshaded-seven pay is indicated by box 1680, which includes only themulti-indicia shaded seven symbol (each subsection of the multi-indiciasymbol is again counted independently as a separate symbol), and afive-symbol cherry pay is indicated by box 1685 for a played-paylineincluding all of the top symbol locations in each reel.

FIGS. 17A-17G illustrate another game play progression embodiment of aslot gaming device display. Referring to FIGS. 17A-17G, a video slotdisplay 1700 includes a main game play area 1710, which has five gamereels, and a secondary area the includes various meters and buttons,such as a “Bet” meter 1706, a “Paid” meter 1708, and a “SPIN” button1750. Here, a predefined condition includes a rule that each symbol thatappears on Reel 1 can be combined with any other similar symbol thatappears on the main game display 1710. In other embodiments, predefinedconditions may include the possibility of different symbols beingcombined into one symbol location or together on a payline according tovarious sets of rules. These dissimilar combined symbols can be used ina variety of manners to facilitate game awards or bonuses. For example,each symbol of the combined symbols may be used in generating pays alongpaylines that include that reel stop location.

Returning now to the present embodiment, FIG. 17A illustrates the resultof an initiated gaming event where the reels have been spun. As shown inFIG. 17B, symbols that are similar to the ones appearing on Reel 1(i.e., the cherry symbols, shaded-seven symbols, and orange symbols)have been moved and combined with the symbols on Reel 1 (the leftmostreel).

Each reel that has a vacant symbol location is now re-spun while thereels without a symbol position vacancy are held. As shown in FIG. 17C,this means that Reels 2, 4, and 5 are re-spun while Reels 1 and 3 areheld. In FIG. 17D, the re-spun reels have come to a stop. The predefinedcondition in this embodiment, however, specifies that additional symbolsachieved from re-spins are combined with similar symbols appearing onReel 1. Thus, as shown in FIG. 17E, the additional cherry symbolreceived on re-spun Reel 5 is moved and combined with the cherry symbolson Reel 1. Here, because Reel 5 now has a symbol position vacancy, Reel5 is re-spun for a second time as shown in FIG. 17F.

In FIG. 17G, Reel 5 has come to a stop and no additional symbols matchthe symbols on Reel 1. Here, the game ends and the main game play area1710 is evaluated for awards. In this particular embodiment, only three,four, and five symbol combinations are associated with awards. Further,each multi-indicia symbol is evaluated such that is subsection isindependently considered a separate symbol. Thus, as shown by the twodashed boxes, there are two three symbol pays (for the cherries andshaded-sevens), which results in the award of 40 credits. Note that inembodiments where multiple paylines pass through at least one symbolposition on Reel 1, each of the multiple paylines may be evaluatedseparately. Hence, if the embodiment in FIG. 17G included five playedpaylines (three horizontal ones, a “V” shaped payline passing throughthe following positions R1-1, R2-2, R3-3, R4-2, and R5-1, where R3-3stands for Reel 3, third or bottom symbol position, and an inverted “V”shaped payline passing though the following positions: R1-3, R2-2, R3-1,R4-2, and R5-3) and each 3-symbol combination resulted in a pay of 20credits, the award associated with the final game outcome would be 60credits (the three shaded-sevens would be paid once, and the threecherries would be paid twice since two paylines would pass throughR1-1).

In FIGS. 18A-18G, another game play progression embodiment of a slotgaming device display is illustrated. Referring to FIGS. 18A-18G, avideo slot display 1800 includes a main game play area 1810, which hasfive game reels, and a secondary area the includes various meters andbuttons, such as a “Bet” meter 1806, a “Paid” meter 1808, and a “SPIN”button 1850. In this embodiment, the predefined conditions or criteriainclude rules that similar symbols to those appearing on Reel 1 aremoved and combined with the symbols appearing on Reel 1 and that similar“Scatter” pay symbols are combined to one of the appearing scattersymbols on any of the reels. Which Scatter symbol receives thecombination can be chosen at random or according to one or more rules.In this embodiment, reels with vacant symbol positions have theremaining reel symbols cascade down to fill the vacant symbol locations.

After the reels have stop spinning from an initial game triggering spinin FIG. 18A, symbols that are similar to those appearing on Reel 1 arecombined with the Reel 1 symbols to form multi-indicia symbols.Additionally, Scatter symbols that appear on the main game play area1810 are combined to one of the Scatter symbol locations. Since Scattersymbols pay according to the number of Scatter symbols located on themain game play area 1810 without regard to paylines, they do notnecessarily need to be combined to the left or right or to any specificreel. The past few illustrated embodiments have combined symbolsinvolved in “Line” pays along paylines to the left, because often slotmachines are evaluated from left to right to determine symbolcombination awards on a payline. For example, three like symbolsappearing on the center positions of Reels 2, 3, and 4 would nottypically be associated with an award unless a similar symbol appearedalong a common payline on Reel 1 (the leftmost reel). As there existmany different slot games and devices that have various other evaluationand awarding techniques, this concept can be applied to embodimentswhere all symbols can combine to the various positions on any reel.

Returning now to the present embodiment, FIG. 18B illustrates that thetwo shaded-sevens on Reels 2 and 4 are moved and combined with theshaded-seven on Reel 1, and that the Scatter Banana symbol from Reel 5is moved and combined with the Scatter Banana symbol on Reel 2. As shownin FIG. 18C, the reels that have vacant symbol positions have thesymbols above the vacant symbol positions cascade or tumble down to fillthe main game play area 1810 with symbols. The result of this cascadingof symbols is shown in FIG. 18D.

Here, another Scatter Banana symbol has appeared on Reel 4. As shown inFIG. 18E, the combined Scatter Banana symbol from Reel 2 is moved andcombined with the Scatter symbol on Reel 4. This move may be selected atrandom or may be selected to move the Scatter symbols to the rightmostsymbol location since the previous Scatter symbol move included movingsymbols to the leftmost Scatter symbol position. In any case, theScatter Banana symbol is now a three-banana multi-indicia symbol, asshown in FIG. 18E. In FIG. 18F, the symbols on Reel 2 cascade down tofill the symbol positions in Reel 2 on the main game play area 1810.Since no additional shaded-sevens, cherries, oranges, or bananas appearfrom the cascade, the resulting main game play area 1810 is evaluatedfor awards in FIG. 18G. Here, since the “Wild” symbol on Reel 2 hascascaded down to be on the center payline with the three-symbolshaded-seven multi-indicia symbol, one dashed-pay box shows theresulting four-symbol pay of shaded-sevens. In addition, a three-symbolScatter pay is awarded from the multi-indicia Scatter Banana symbol asshown by the second dashed-pay box. The sum of these awards is shown inthe “Paid” meter 1808, and the game round ends.

FIGS. 19A-19D illustrate another game play progression embodiment of aslot gaming device display. Referring to FIGS. 19A-19D, a video slotdisplay 1900 includes a main game play area 1910, which has five gamereels, and a secondary area the includes various meters and buttons,such as a “Bet” meter 1906, a “Paid” meter 1908, and a “SPIN” button1950. Here, a predefined condition includes a rule that similar symbolsin the same reel are combined together in the lowest occurring positionof the set of similar symbols. In other embodiments, the symbols maycombine to the highest occurring position, may combine to a randomlychosen one of the positions, or may combine to a position according toanother rule. In yet other embodiments, the symbols may further combinewith other similar symbols that occur on other reel strips, or thesymbols may further combine with other similar symbols that occur on ahorizontal line (or other payline), or according to other similar rules.Returning now to the present embodiment, FIG. 19A illustrates the resultof an initiated gaming event where the reels have been spun. As shown inFIG. 19B, symbols that are similar within the same reel (i.e., theshaded-seven symbols on Reel 1, and the cherry symbols on Reel 2) havebeen moved and combined with the lowest occurrence of those similarsymbols. As shown in FIG. 19C, the reels that have vacant symbolpositions have the symbols above the vacant symbol positions cascade ortumble down to fill the main game play area 1910 with symbols. Theresult of this cascading of symbols is shown in FIG. 19D.

As no other similar symbols appear from the cascaded symbols (such asfor example, another shaded-seven symbol cascading down into view in themain game play area 1910 on Reel 1), the game ends and the main gameplay area 1910 is evaluated for awards. In this particular embodiment,only three, four, and five symbol combinations are associated withawards. Further, each multi-indicia symbol is evaluated such that issubsection is independently considered a separate symbol. Thus, as shownby the two dashed boxes, there are two three symbol pays (for thecherries and shaded-sevens), which results in the award of 40 credits.Note that in embodiments where multiple paylines pass through at leastone symbol position on Reel 1, each of the multiple paylines may beevaluated separately. Hence, if the embodiment in FIG. 19D includedmultiple played paylines that passed through the bottom reel stop of thefirst reel (e.g., a horizontal one along the bottom position of eachgame reel, and an inverted “V” shaped payline passing though thefollowing positions: R1-3, R2-2, R3-1, R4-2, and R5-3) and each 3-symbolcombination resulted in a pay of 20 credits, the award associated withthe final game outcome would be 60 credits (the three shaded-sevenswould be paid twice since two paylines would pass through R1-3, and thethree cherries would be paid once unless multiple paylines passed thoughR1-2 and R2-3).

The foregoing description of the exemplary embodiments has beenpresented for the purposes of illustration and description. It is notintended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise formdisclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light ofthe above teaching. For example, the present invention is equallyapplicable in electronic or mechanical gaming machines, and is alsoapplicable to live table versions of gaming activities that are capableof being played in a table version (e.g., machines involving poker orcard games that could be played via table games).

Some embodiments of the invention have been described above, and inaddition, some specific details are shown for purposes of illustratingthe inventive principles. However, numerous other arrangements may bedevised in accordance with the inventive principles of this patentdisclosure. Further, well known processes have not been described indetail in order not to obscure the invention. Thus, while the inventionis described in conjunction with the specific embodiments illustrated inthe drawings, it is not limited to these embodiments or drawings.Rather, the invention is intended to cover alternatives, modifications,and equivalents that come within the scope and spirit of the inventiveprinciples set out in the appended claims.

1. A poker gaming device comprising: a body structure having a playerinput device; a video display device housed in the body structure, thevideo display including a game portion having a grid of multiple cardpositions; a memory device enclosed in the body structure, the memorydevice storing executable instructions and a plurality of virtual cardseach having a rank value and a suit type; and a processor enclosed inthe body structure, the processor arranged to execute the instructionsstored in the memory to: display a first number of the plurality ofvirtual cards in the card positions of the grid, the displayed firstnumber of virtual cards forming a poker hand in response to a receivedgame initiation signal; determine whether two or more of the displayedvirtual cards meet a combination criterion; combine the two or moredetermined cards when said cards meet the combination criterion, thecards being combined in a single card position in the grid, wherein thecombination of two or more determined cards in the single card positionis a multi-indicia card symbol showing each of the combined cards;replace cards combined to a different card position on the grid withreplacement cards from the plurality of virtual cards, where each gridposition includes either a single virtual card or a multi-indicia card;and identify a plurality of resulting hands for the poker hand when oneor more of the card positions of the grid are associated with amultiple-indicia card, each of the plurality of resulting handsincluding a different subset of a total of the cards by splittingindicia of the multiple-indicia card into individual cards and makingcombinations using the other cards in the card positions of the grid togenerate the plurality of resulting hands.
 2. The poker gaming device ofclaim 1, wherein determining whether two or more of the displayedvirtual cards meet a combination criterion includes determining whethertwo or more of the displayed virtual cards are of the same rank value.3. The poker gaming device of claim 1, wherein determining whether twoor more of the displayed virtual cards meet a combination criterionincludes determining whether two or more of the displayed virtual cardsare of the same suit and have a sequential rank value.
 4. The pokergaming device of claim 1, wherein the poker hand is a draw poker hand,and wherein the processor is further arranged to execute theinstructions stored in the memory to: facilitate user identification ofwhich of the displayed virtual cards to hold; and replace virtual cardsin the poker hand that are not held with draw cards from the pluralityof virtual cards.
 5. The poker gaming device of claim 4, wherein theprocessor executes the instructions to facilitate user identification ofwhich of the displayed virtual cards to hold and replace virtual cardsin the poker hand after the processor executes the instructions todetermine whether two or more of the displayed virtual cards meet acombination criterion and combine the two or more determined cards. 6.The poker gaming device of claim 4, wherein the processor executes theinstructions to facilitate user identification of which of the displayedvirtual cards to hold and replace virtual cards in the poker hand beforethe processor executes the instructions to determine whether two or moreof the displayed virtual cards meet a combination criterion and combinethe two or more determined cards.
 7. The poker gaming device of claim 4,wherein the processor executes the instructions to facilitate useridentification of which of the displayed virtual cards to hold andreplace virtual cards in the poker hand both before and after theprocessor executes the instructions to determine whether two or more ofthe displayed virtual cards meet a combination criterion and combine thetwo or more determined cards.
 8. The poker gaming device of claim 1,wherein the processor is further arranged to execute the instructionsstored in the memory to provide a payout for any of the plurality ofresulting hands that comply with a payout rule.
 9. The poker gamingdevice of claim 8, wherein the processor is further arranged to executethe instructions stored in the memory to display each enumeratedresulting hand on the video display device.
 10. The poker gaming deviceof claim 1, wherein the processor is further arranged to execute theinstructions stored in the memory to provide a payout for a best pokerhand associated with a largest award of the plurality of resulting handswhen the best poker hand complies with a payout rule.
 11. The pokergaming device of claim 1, wherein the processor is further arranged toexecute the instructions stored in the memory to repeat the executionsteps of determining whether two or more of the displayed virtual cardsmeet a combination criterion, combining the two or more determinedcards, and replacing cards combined to a different card position on thegrid until no two displayed virtual cards in the grid meet thecombination criterion.
 12. A method comprising: displaying a firstnumber of a plurality of first virtual cards in first card positions ofa game grid, the displayed first number of virtual cards forming a firstpoker hand in response to a received game initiation signal; determiningwhether two or more of the first displayed virtual cards meet acombination criterion; combining the two or more determined cards fromthe first displayed virtual cards when said cards meet the combinationcriterion, the cards being combined in a single card position in thefirst card positions of the game grid, wherein the combination of two ormore determined cards in the single card position is a multi-indiciacard symbol showing each of the combined cards; replacing cards combinedto a different card position in the first card positions of the gamegrid with replacement cards from the first plurality of virtual cards,where each of the first grid positions includes either a single virtualcard or a multi-indicia card; and identify a plurality of firstresulting hands for the first poker hand when one or more of the firstcard positions of the grid are associated with a multiple-indicia card,each of the plurality of first resulting hands including a differentsubset of a total of the cards in the first poker hand by splittingindicia of the multiple-indicia card into individual cards and makingcombinations using the other cards in the first card positions of thegrid to generate the plurality of first resulting hands.
 13. The methodof claim 12, wherein the first hand of the poker game is a draw pokergame, and wherein the method further comprises: facilitating useridentification of which of the first plurality of cards in the firstpoker hand to hold; replacing the displayed virtual cards in the firstpoker hand that are not held with first draw poker cards from the firstplurality of virtual cards.
 14. The method of claim 13, furthercomprising displaying a second number of a second plurality of virtualcards in second card positions of a game grid, the displayed secondnumber of virtual cards forming a second poker hand in response to thereceived game initiation signal.
 15. The method of claim 14, whereincards held in the first poker hand are automatically displayed and heldin the second poker hand at second cards positions in the game gridcorresponding to first card positions associated with the held cards inthe first poker hand.
 16. The method of claim 15, further comprisingreplacing the virtual cards in the second poker hand that are notautomatically held with second draw poker cards from the secondplurality of virtual cards.
 17. A slot machine apparatus comprising: adisplay device configured to display a game grid; and a processorconfigured to: spin a plurality of game reels each having a plurality ofsymbols in response to initiation of a gaming event; stop the pluralityof game reels, where at least one symbol of each game reel is displayedin the game grid; determining whether two or more of the displayedsymbols in the game grid meet a combination criterion; combining the twoor more determined symbols when said symbols meet the combinationcriterion, the symbols being combined in a single grid position in thegrid, wherein the combination of two or more determined symbols in thesingle grid position is a multi-indicia symbol showing each of thecombined symbols; replacing symbols combined to a different gridposition on the grid with replacement symbols, where each grid positionincludes either a single symbol or a multi-indicia symbol; andidentifying a plurality of resulting symbol combinations when one ormore of the grid positions of the grid are associated with amultiple-indicia symbol, each of the plurality of resulting symbolcombinations including a different subset of a total of the symbols bysplitting indicia of the multiple-indicia symbol into individual symbolelements and making combinations using the other symbols in the gridpositions of the grid to generate the plurality of resulting symbolcombinations.
 18. The slot machine apparatus of claim 17, whereindetermining whether two or more of the displayed symbols in the gamegrid meet a combination criterion includes determining whether two ormore predefined symbols having the same indicia appear on a common rowin the game grid.
 19. The slot machine apparatus of claim 17, whereinreplacing symbols combined to a different grid position on the grid withreplacement symbols includes respinning game reels that had symbolscombined to a different grid position until all game grid positionsassociated with the respun game reels include at least one of theplurality of symbols.
 20. The slot machine apparatus of claim 17,wherein replacing symbols combined to a different grid position on thegrid with replacement symbols includes cascading symbols in the gamereels that had symbols combined to a different grid position until allgame grid positions associated with the game reels include at least oneof the plurality of symbols.